This invention relates to control circuits for appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines which employ motors and solenoid actuated devices for performing various machine cycle operations such as water fill, water drain, dispensing of detergents and other additives, drying and the like. Conventionally, the approach has been to use a separate relay with each solenoid activated device and motor. The energization of the relays so employed is controlled by a mechanical or electromechanical timer or, more recently, by solid state logic controllers. In order to provide greater reliability and reduced cost, it is desirable to minimize the number of relays employed to provide the desired cycle functions.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a relay control circuit for an appliance which controls a predetermined number of functions, using a number of relays which is less than said predetermined number of functions.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a relay control circuit for a washing appliance which uses four relays to control eight functions.